Facebook to Pay US Content Reviewers More Amid Criticism

Facebook has been criticised for not paying the content review workers enough and not providing enough support.

By Associated Press | Updated: 14 May 2019 11:47 IST

Facebook to Pay US Content Reviewers More Amid Criticism

Photo Credit: Josh Edelson/ AFP

Facebook is raising how much it pays US contractors who do some of its most taxing work, including watching violent and other objectionable material for possible removal.

Facebook will pay at least $18 (roughly Rs. 1,300) an hour for these jobs. Those in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay area will get $22 (roughly Rs. 1,550) per hour due to a higher cost of living. Facebook said its minimum pay for all contractors has been $15 (roughly Rs. 1,050) per hour.

The content review jobs are psychologically taxing. Facebook has been criticised for not paying the workers enough and not providing enough support. Reports have documented that some of them have been left with post-traumatic stress symptoms from the work.

Facebook said Monday it's also adding tools for content moderators to have graphic images blurred out or shown in black and white before they see it.

The company said it's looking into "similar standards" outside the US but did not say when. Facebook said the pay raise in the US will take effect by mid-2020.

Facebook has been working to boost its use of artificial intelligence to catch objectionable material before people see it, but it's nowhere near being able to do without humans. And even its thousands of human workers can't catch everything. And humans, unlike AI, can feel the effects of looking at the worst of humanity materialize on screen day after day.

Facebook has not disclosed how many contractors it employs. It has said that 30,000 people work on its safety and security teams that includes content moderation, but it is not clear how many of these are contractors.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.